by Rick Daytona
West Kelowna
November 13, 2023
Where now for BC’s healthcare system?
On a fairly regular basis either through the media or via its own communications, IBC health authorities are constantly pushing news of workforce and resource shortages. Most recently in the article titled “Interior Health is recruiting new staff for Urgent and Primary Care Centre”. This is mirrored across BC regional health authorities, where there is a constant outpouring of grief and frustration that inadequate staffing is affecting front line services. Not only that, but qualified, experienced, and effective management and leadership are hard to find. Often unqualified and/or inexperienced staff are promoted into positions that allow them to cause chaos and inefficiency among their teams. Morale has been destroyed. BC is now unable to attract global quality talent, perhaps due to the lack of rational science to support an extension of healthcare mandates, combined with the cost of living crisis and unaffordable housing. For example, just next door our neighbours in Alberta demand no mandates and the cost of living is lower, healthcare migrants will research and compare, opting for the lowest barrier to entry and the best quality of life. There are many towns close to bigger hubs where they can forge a career.
Make no bones about it, healthcare in Canada (just like most western nations) is collapsing at an alarming rate. Allegations are made about burnout, stress, short staffing, poor morale, poor leadership and other driving factors.
Despite protestations from people such as BC Health Minister Adrian Dix, we see little in the way of front-line improvements. Some parties to the discussion demand that we lower standards for entry, thus adding even more problems heaped onto the heavy burden of front-line nurses. We have a system that refuses to help itself. No doubt taxpayers will be asked, nay told, to support further investment in a collapsing system. Money seems to fix nothing. It simply adds to the inefficiency and incompetence. generally it results in more managers and administrators and increased third party consultation fees.
The contentious topic of vaccine mandates remains, and we are never shown “the science” that explains why BC is one of the most drawn-out entrenched mandate provinces in the world. Yes, the entire world. We are never told when the “pandemic” will end in BC, as healthcare parties seem committed to remaining in their hypnotic trance-like state of maintaining the pandemic for all eternity. Who benefits from this? Is it those who enjoy seizing a sense of power to leverage over people? Those that enjoy being at the forefront of pandemic media fame may want to retain their position. In fact they may be desperate to do so, as fame and power are addictive. It certainly isn’t the public or burned out healthcare teams benefiting from this prolonged saga. For the likes of Dix and Bonnie Henry they do not possess the self awareness to think that BC cannot attract medical professionals because of the mandates.
Meanwhile, the healthcare system further collapses and front-line service is simply not present in some of our smaller outlying communities. Small city mayors have demanded an end to vaccine mandates, yet it all falls on deaf ears within the hallowed halls of power. I imagine they have their precious laminated vaccine passports stashed safely ready for use again.
It is long past time for a grown-up public discussion about where we go from here. Either BC has a permanent state of healthcare crisis and a perma-pandemic, or we figure out multiple ways in which we can rebuild this utterly chaotic system. One thing is for sure the system itself and those within it at senior levels are offering no solutions. It’s time it was taken out of their hands. It’s also long past the point where Adrian Dix and Bonnie Henry share a stage to torment those in need and those being burned out by their policies. In business terms, those who create and maintain crises are not the appropriate solution to taking out of the crisis.
Nothing on the plan for improvement involves mention of bringing back fired professionals or a timeline for the removal of the mandates.
Due to vaccine mandates, decades of experience and ability at all levels has been removed from the system, cast aside, due to vaccine mandates. The science behind these mandates is now breaking apart as post pandemic the world learns about the lack of clinical trial testing for transmission by pharma companies. Contracts with national governments reveal no guarantee of effectiveness or safety. Rising all-cause mortality rates among heavily vaccinated western nations is a cause for great concern, especially as it affects young people to a higher extent. In particular politicians from Australia and the UK are pressing hard for answers and there is a very uncomfortable silence in response. The topic of vaccine passports has been explored and the science seems to be unable to prove that they reduced transmission and, in most cases, did not actually increase vaccine uptake (ON and QC most recently released data on this topic).
The alleged numbers of BC healthcare staff affected by mandates did not include those who resigned or took early retirement to avoid this affront to personal health sovereignty. From conversations with informed staff, those numbers were skewed towards high performance, experienced and senior people within each part of their operation, whether management or front line. Great people were cast aside, without an option to even remain “on the books”. What a waste of talent.
The public should engage healthcare professionals in these broad discussions whenever possible to find out the position that the most affected people hold. It may surprise people. But for many it may be an uncomfortable question to raise.
I very much doubt that Canada will ever conduct an open transparent “covid inquiry”. There are too many people to hold accountable for the utter economic, social and emotional disaster that the covid policies delivered to the public. Asking for accountability for issues such as the mental health of our young people and the incredible rise in demand for oncologists and their associated workload seem unreasonable. It is not considered unreasonable to ask serious questions.
All is a smokescreen, just like the destruction of BC’s healthcare system by politicians and senior healthcare leadership. And it is “collapsing”, that is the actual definition used by healthcare professionals across the nation:
In many growing cities newcomers cannot get access to a family GP and walk clinics are overburdened. This is not solely a healthcare issue but also a quality of life and economic factor.
It is now long past time for an independent public inquiry into this deliberate destruction and dismantling of the BC healthcare system. It is now irredeemably destroyed by Dix, Henry, Horgan and co. It is an insult to the taxpaying public that the two aforementioned still hold public office.
Say healthy friends, for the alternative may be dangerous to your survival.
